TO
AUSSIES BREW
220-YEAR-OLD BEER
Estimated
number of
bicycles in
Amsterdam –
which means
there are more
bikes than
people (approx.
821 000) living
in the city. Leave it to the Aussies to revive a
220-year old beer made from the yeast
of a bottle found inside a shipwreck off
the Tasmanian coast.
Brewers at James Squire created
The Wreck Preservation Ale from the
centuries-old yeast and “found it to
have properties quite different from its
modern-day commercial counterparts”.
Apparently the shipwreck yeast rapidly
consumed all the available sugar in the
ferment and produced a dry beer.
The Sydney Cove was wrecked in
rough seas in 1797, carrying around
31 500 litres of rum and beer. Forgotten
for almost 200 years, the shipwreck was
rediscovered in 1977 by amateur divers.
Besides the beer and rum, they found a
host of other items, including ceramics,
shoes, cannons and anchors.
The alcohol hadn’t spoiled because
of secure corkage and the cool ocean
temperatures. Some of the bottles
are now stored at the Queen Victoria
Museum in Launceston, Tasmania.
65 WHERE IN THE WORLD AM I?
AMSTERDAM
BY THE
NUMBERS
1
million
(AND COUNTING)
The number
of canals in
Amsterdam,
15 more than
in Venice.
25 000
Approximate
number of
bicycles that
end up in the
canals every
year.
200
(AND COUNTING)
Number of
licensed
coffee shops
Amsterdam has
become famous
for – which may
also explain
all those bikes
that end up in
canals.
I’m the stuff of family travel daydreams:
think 100-plus kilometres of beaches,
hiking trails, kid-friendly museums and
world-renowned theme parks. And I’m
one of the safest cities in my country.
“Oh, the places you’ll go” … The library
at my state university is home to the
world’s largest collection of original
Dr Seuss manuscripts, because the
well-quoted children’s author (real name
Ted Geisel) called me home.
You’re not going to get cold around
me – snow is so rare, it’s only been seen
five times in the 150 years since weather
records started to be kept. In fact, be
sure to pack your flipflops – I’m pretty
balmy and rain is a rare occurence. Think
twice before you take a dip in any of my
lakes, though – they’re all man-made and
it’s illegal to swim in them.
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